PennDOT announces bridge naming to honor fallen employees

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced a statewide effort Thursday to memorialize fallen employees with bridge dedications.

The department is in the initial stages of an effort to name bridges after the PennDOT employees who died while on duty since 1970. Once this has been completed, PennDOT will work with the General Assembly to pass a naming authorization bill in the spring 2020 legislative session.

“Our employees put their lives at risk every day to improve and maintain Pennsylvania’s infrastructure,” said PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards. “Through this initiative, we hope to permanently honor those employees who we’ve lost in the line of duty.”

PennDOT’s intent, with the involvement and approval of the family, is to name a bridge after each fallen PennDOT worker as an acknowledgment of their service to Pennsylvania. Each bridge will be marked with a sign that includes the fallen worker’s name, a visual reminder to motorists to slow down in work zones.

The statewide initiative was inspired by a similar effort completed in honor of PennDOT District 3 employee Harold “Don” Whipple, who was killed in the line of duty in 2016. A bridge in Northumberland County was memorialized in Whipple’s name earlier this year.

“PennDOT continues to honor our fallen colleagues through our Traveling Worker’s Memorial,” said Richards, “but the bridge renaming effort will give communities a lasting monument to remember those lost and emphasize the fact that the safety of workers in a work zone depends on all of us.”

Workers who will be memorialized include: George Dennis of Lehigh County, who died Feb. 11, 1972; Charles Gardner of Monroe County, who died Sept. 17, 1974; Raphael Rivera of Northampton County, who died Sept. 7, 2000; and Ralph Strubinger of Carbon County, who died Oct. 4,1977.